In-form trainer Venetia Williams claimed her first winner of this year's Cheltenham Festival when Kayf Aramis (16-1) landed the Pertemps Final.
Confidently ridden by young jockey Aidan Coleman, he took up the running coming down the hill - but the challengers were queuing up.
Buena Vista, Scriptwriter, P'Tit Fute and Middleton Dene all held chances but nothing could get to Williams' charge once Coleman sent him on his way.
It was Buena Vista who emerged closest, two lengths away at the line, with Pennek flying home for third and The Sliotar fourth.
For a competitive handicap at the Festival, the pace was pretty slow early on as Mister Gloss took them along.
There were bound to be plenty in with chances off such a slow gallop - and so it proved inside the final mile.
Denis O'Regan looked poised on Scriptwriter, but then Tom Scudamore appeared to be travelling better than anything on 10-1 chance Buena Vista.
However, Coleman was very positive on the seven-year-old and rode for his life up the hill to seal his first winner at the Festival.
Williams said: "I can't believe it. Two runs ago I couldn't win a maiden hurdle with him. It's fantastic.
"One thing I said to Aidan was if you get stuffed it won't be through lack of stamina.
"That was the best he's ever jumped and I'm so thrilled for Isobel (Phipps Coltman), who owns and bred him - she has stuck with him through thick and thin.
"I think she was totally shocked when I said we might enter him for Cheltenham and she was even more shocked when he actually got in the race."
Coleman added: "It could not have gone any better.
"He was handy, but I thought if he missed one, as he can do, he'd end up last before we knew it.
"But, to be fair, he travelled so well today.
"He's obviously got the hang of it thanks to his last couple of wins in handicaps and now he's got his head in front, there's no stopping him.
"On the run-in I heard something coming and I was thinking 'no, not now'.
"He'd been in front so long he didn't deserve to get caught but thank God it was a loose horse, so relief.
"It's my first winner at the Festival and I'm still absolutely speechless."
Buena Vista's part-owner Matt Archer said: "For a minute I thought we might get there but we're just going to have to bring him back another time and try again.
"I very much doubt he'll run (in Friday's Martin Pipe Conditional Jockeys' Handicap Hurdle) as he's given everything today."
Alan King said of the third home Pennek: "He's run another solid race and he'll go chasing next year.
"He could be one for the four-miler in 12 months' time."
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